One Last Chance
by absolutebanana
Summary: Ever wondered why Vanellope used Crumbelina's kart to rescue Ralph in the climax? Oneshot.


_A/N: This was written in about ten minutes straight, so it's probably full of mistakes, but anyhoo..._

Crumbelina had never been sure what to make of Vanellope von Schweetz.

Sure, she was just a programming mistake that wasn't supposed to exist. But Crumbelina prided herself on her logical mind, and something about the glitch just didn't add up. Why would somebody design every tiny, detailed aspect of her- from the candy in her ponytail to the strawberry swirls on her boots- just to erase her from the game and delete her code? She looked exactly like the other Sugar Rush racers, and if not for that telltale blue pixellating, nobody would ever know she was a glitch. It didn't make sense, and Crumbelina resolved to find out why.

She'd never voiced her suspicions to the others. None of them saw Vanellope as anything other than a virus, and they had a great time finding ways to torment her. Crumbelina joined in reluctantly—if she showed signs of compassion towards the glitch, the others would turn on her for sure. Still, every time she made a mean comment or helped destroy a kart, she got a sick feeling in her stomach. She knew, deep down, that what they were doing was despicable. Vanellope was just another kid, and the fact she was a glitch didn't make it right.

_So why can't you do something about it? _she'd ask herself, every night. She could never come up with a good answer.

The last time the gang had bullied Vanellope, Crumbelina had almost snapped. She'd been on the brink of yelling in Taffyta's face, when suddenly some massive guy in overalls came barrelling down the hill screaming bloody murder. They'd cleared out as fast as possible, but the glitch hadn't made it. How could she, when they'd just destroyed her kart? The last Crumbelina saw, she was slumped in a mud puddle, hardly conscious, with the giant looming over her.

Crumbelina cried herself to sleep that night, berating herself for her stupidity. If the giant killed Vanellope, would she regenerate? _Could_ glitches even regenerate? Maybe she could have done something to help if she'd acted quicker...but she quickly dismissed the thought. Whywas she feeling so upset about a stupid glitch? They'd never exchanged a word, never looked each other in the eye. She doubted Vanellope even knew her name. But she still felt, somehow, as though there was something she didn't know. Something she should be able to remember.

She was still thinking about it during the Random Roster Race, and as a result didn't really pay attention. At the run-up to Birthday Cake Mountain, her Tira-Missile was overtaken by a junky-looking kart splattered with purple frosting. She didn't pay much attention to it at the time, thinking it was one of Gloyd's experiments gone wrong. But as she began circling the base of the mountain, she saw it erupt into blue pixels, then continue as if nothing had happened. Blinking, Crumbelina wondered if she'd imagined it. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately.

It only occurred to her after that it might have been Vanellope.

ooo

As Crumbelina neared the end of the tunnel, she instantly knew something was wrong. The normally mint-green sky had darkened to a throbbing, angry purple, illuminated only by the flashes of lightning that sliced through the clouds. Swarms of monstrous, spider-like robots darted at random over the track, devouring anything that got in their way. Crumbelina swerved frantically as more and more burst out in fountains from the ground in front of her. Her kart screeched to a halt at the base of the Rainbow Ridgeway, and she joined the screaming masses running towards the exit.

By the time she reached Game Central, it was flooded with Sugar Rush inhabitants. In one corner, Candlehead had set up a refugee camp, and Crumbelina wandered aimlessly over, her mind numb with shock. She scanned the crowd for the other racers, most of which were standing in a huddle at the edge of the station. Taffyta, Swizzle, Jubileena, Rancis...Oddly enough, she couldn't spot King Candy anywhere. There was someone else missing, too, someone she couldn't quite put her finger on. Someone she'd been thinking about only that morning...

_The glitch._

A screaming lightning bolt of pain seared Crumbelina's mind, and she lurched backwards against the wall. Vanellope was still inside her game, the game that was being destroyed right at that moment. She was probably unaware of what was happening, too. If she was still there in the morning when the game was unplugged, or if she was ripped apart by one of those monsters...Crumbelina didn't think she'd ever forgive herself. She hadn't saved Vanellope last time. Now she'd been granted a second chance.

Ignoring the panicked shouts from the racers around her, Crumbelina began to shove through the crowds, breaking out into a run as she neared the Sugar Rush portal. It was cool and dark inside, and there was no sound except for the skittering of her her feet on the floor. The wires buzzed with feverish energy, reminding Crumbelina of the mechanical insects that were at that very second tearing apart her game. Soon she was wheezing and gasping for air, but she didn't stop. She couldn't. Vanellope's life depended on it.

All of a sudden, the tunnel came to an end, and Crumbelina stopped in her tracks. Three silhouettes stood with their backs to her, facing down an army of advancing mechanical monsters. One of them- a blonde woman in heavy battle armour- was shooting them down with some kind of rifle, but every time one disintegrated, another took its place. Their eyes glinted cruelly in the darkness, pincers clicking as they scuttled slowly forwards.

Every nerve in Crumbelina's body screamed at her to run, but she remained rooted to the spot. Two of the characters were backing slowly into the tunnel, but the central, smallest silhouette had collided with a glowing blue barrier that had seemingly materialised out of nowhere. With a jolt, Crumbelina recognised it as Vanellope. The glitch. The glitch who couldn't leave her game.

Vanellope stared in terror at the monsters, who were only a few feet away, and Crumbelina knew she had to act now. She thrust her hand into the pocket of her jacket, scrabbling desperately around for a secret power-up. "Vanellope!" she called, but her voice came out as a reedy gasp. _"Vanellope!"_ she tried again. The glitch's head whipped around. Her eyes widened in recognition.

Crumbelina's fingers tightened around the first object she came across, and without thinking, she hurled it into the air. The power-up glinted as it soared towards Vanellope's outstretched hand. The hopeful expression on the glitch's face melted into one of utter confusion as she looked down at the tiny object in her hand, and Crumbelina's heart plummeted down into her stomach.

It wasn't a power-up. It was the ignition key for her kart.

What had she done?

She looked in horror back at Vanellope, whose eyes had darted up to the sky, looking at something Crumbelina couldn't see. Whatever it was had obviously shocked her: with a scream of "Ralph!", she sprinted away from the tunnel, straight into the monsters' line of fire. Crumbelina could only gape and stare as she glitched over their heads in a blur of turquoise pixels, then disappeared from view.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Then the Tira-Missile soared over the mountains, black against the marshmallow moon.


End file.
